No top 10 for Visma-Lease a Bike in the Tour of Flanders. Dylan van Baarle (83rd) drove from flat tire to flat tire. After an earlier equipment failure on the Koppenberg, Tiesj Benoot (15th) seemed to be on his way to a nice place of honor, but he suffered a puncture in the final kilometers. Matteo Jorgenson (31st) tried to follow Van der Poel on the Koppenberg, but the effort paid off and he completely failed in the end. Sports director Grischa Niermann: “Wout would have been the only one who could have followed Mathieu. But the reality is that Wout was not there…”
Wout van Aert visited his friends on the day of the Tour and ate fries. He has been back home since Saturday and, under the circumstances, he is doing well. According to our information, the main pain has subsided from his broken ribs, collarbone and sternum. He still experiences the most inconvenience from the burns and abrasions after scraping over the asphalt at 80 km/h. “There is no news to report about his rehabilitation. We will look at this further in the coming days and let the doctors decide what is possible,” Niermann said.
Despite a medical bulletin to warn you, rehabilitation could start sooner than expected. According to our information, the Tour of Italy (May 4-26) is still a serious option. A requirement is that the fractures continue to heal properly, the rehabilitation proceeds quickly and he can complete a minimum of training. In his original program, Van Aert would take a short rest after Paris-Roubaix or the Amstel Gold Race and work towards the Giro without an altitude training camp.
Suppose he rides the Giro effectively, then it will not be the very best Van Aert who will be at the start in Turin. That doesn’t have to be an obstacle. Van Aert has experience with growing in a Grand Tour. Due to appendicitis, he did not have an ideal preparation for the 2021 Tour. In that first Tour week he had to pass against Van der Poel and co, but halfway through the Tour he came through and won three more stages, including the stage to the Mont Ventoux. The same growth scenario is also intended for the Giro.
Participating in the 2024 Tour is not in Van Aert’s mind. After all, he has planned an altitude training camp in July to prepare for the Olympic Games in Paris. One does not want to deviate from that preparation.
Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek) is also still hoping and aiming for the Giro after his broken collarbone in the same Dwars door Vlaanderen.
